Oratorio di San Michele, Gothic oratory near Carrara Castle, Padua, Italy.

The Oratorio di San Michele is a small rectangular hall on Riviera Tiso da Camposampiero, near the Torlonga of the Carrarese Castle. Its lower facade reuses large blocks of Euganean trachyte and Roman sesquipedal bricks. Inside, Jacopo da Verona painted the chapel of the Virgin Mary in 1397, covering the walls with a cycle on her life.

This chapel was built in 1397 following a fire that destroyed an earlier church during conflicts between the Carraresi and Visconti families. The Bovi family funded its reconstruction, making possible the creation of this remarkable building.

The chapel's name comes from the earlier church of Santi Arcangeli, renamed San Michele by the Lombards, who made Michael the Archangel patron of Italy after their victory over the Byzantines at Siponto in 663. The fresco cycle by Jacopo da Verona turns on the life of the Virgin, to whom the altar was dedicated in 1397.

The chapel has limited opening hours and sits near Carrara Castle, making it possible to visit both in one trip. It helps to check ahead since visiting times change depending on the season and day of the week.

A stone plaque inside records construction details and attributes the frescoes to the artist Jacopo da Verona. This rare piece of written evidence allows experts to confirm with certainty who painted these walls and when.